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After seven years as head of the
University of Wisconsin, John Wiley announced Friday he will step
down as chancellor effective September 2008.

Wiley, who will turn 66 in March, said
he is not retiring from the university and will stay on board to help
with fundraising efforts, particularly with the East Campus
renovation project.

Next fall will be the "perfect time
for transition," Wiley said.

Wiley’s wife and daughter, a UW senior,
moved out of the chancellor’s home last year so the house could
undergo a wide range of renovations, and Wiley said Friday the family
never intended to move back in.

Additionally, Wiley said the best time
is halfway through a budget period, and 2008 will be midway through
the 2007-2009 biennial cycle.

The UW System plans to "move swiftly
on a national search" for the next chancellor, UW System Board of
Regents President Mark Bradley said.

David Walsh, a current regent and
former president of the board, will chair the committee that will
make the final recommendation for the next head of UW-Madison.

Lori Berquam, UW Dean of Students, said Wiley has done some “amazing things” for the university.

“I hope the next chancellor — whoever it is — is as responsive and accessible to students as Chancellor Wiley has been,” Berquam said, adding she will miss Wiley’s “brilliance and wit.”

Wiley began as chancellor in January
2001, succeeding David Ward. Ward and Wiley both got their
administrative starts under former chancellor Donna Shalala.

After joining the electrical
engineering department in 1975, Wiley served as associate dean of the
engineering school from 1986-1989, dean of the graduate school from
1989-1994 and provost from 1994-2000.

Look for extensive coverage in Monday morning’s Badger Herald.